Move the Artillery Position Five Meters to the Left

"Idiots! Utter fools!!"

In the Hokage's Office of Konoha, the higher-ups were having a friendly exchange.

"I said long ago that I should have led this war myself!"

"That Jiraiya is softhearted and useless!"

In the Conference Room, Danzo, the leader of Root, furiously hammered his cane against the floor, venting his dissatisfaction.

What kind of joke was this? Konoha's mighty army had actually lost to a bunch of mud-legged peasants from the Land of Rain?

If it had been him, he would have sent troops to kill every civilian before even reaching Graystone Town, eliminating any future trouble!

Then none of this mess would have happened!

Hearing Danzo bluntly criticize his disciple, Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression darkened slightly.

"Jiraiya merely upheld the agreement between the Five Great Nations. Even if he made a mistake, it was an unintentional one!"

"Must every Konoha ninja slaughter people indiscriminately like your Root for it to be considered right?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi retorted in a cold, hard tone.

At once, an astonishing fury appeared on Danzo's face.

He slaughtered people indiscriminately?

Wasn't all that killing for the sake of the damned Hokage seat beneath someone's ass?!

Thinking of that, Danzo felt utterly stifled.

But he could not say it outright, so he could only concentrate all his fury into his fist and slam it heavily onto the table.

"So now, Konoha, the hegemon of the ninja world, has been severely wounded by a small country and is facing the danger of fighting on multiple fronts!!"

"And all of this was caused by Jiraiya!"

"Enough!!"

Faced with Danzo's relentless aggression, Hiruzen Sarutobi finally lost his temper.

A commanding aura erupted from his eyes as he said coldly:

"I am the Hokage, Danzo!!"

The moment those words were spoken, Danzo's face flushed red.

He opened his mouth, but in the end, he could only force out one sentence:

"You will regret this, Hiruzen!"

With that, he stormed out and slammed the door behind him.

Seeing this, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, standing nearby, could not help but sigh.

They had lost count of how many times they had witnessed a scene like this.

After more than ten seconds of silence, Koharu Utatane finally spoke to persuade him.

"Hiruzen, don't take it to heart. Danzo only wants what is best for the village."

Unfortunately, Hiruzen Sarutobi was still angry.

He silently lit his pipe, took a deep drag, and said nothing.

Seeing that he had no intention of continuing the subject, Koharu Utatane could only change the topic.

"Ahem, putting that aside, the matter at the front cannot be delayed."

"Jiraiya's army has suffered heavy losses, while Sunagakure and Iwagakure are watching like tigers from the sidelines. We must prepare early."

At that, everyone finally became serious.

Jiraiya's defeat was far from as simple as it appeared.

If Konoha could not resolve the Land of Rain in a short time, then not only Sunagakure and Iwagakure—even Kumogakure in the north and Kirigakure across the sea would likely make a move.

The moment they saw Konoha's 'health bar,' they would swarm in without hesitation!

"How about..."

"Transfer Sakumo to support the Land of Rain front?"

After thinking for a long while, Koharu Utatane offered this suggestion.

The Sakumo she spoke of was the powerful ninja known as the Konoha White Fang.

He was famous for his terrifying swordsmanship and incredible speed!

If he went out personally and joined forces with Jiraiya and Tsunade, dealing with the Land of Rain would be effortless.

Unfortunately, the proposal was immediately opposed.

"No. Sakumo Hatake is one of the village's key strengths. He must remain here to guard against attacks from Sunagakure and Iwagakure."

Danzo had returned at some point and was now standing at the office door.

Ignoring the strange looks from Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado, he strode forward and planted both hands heavily on the table.

"Let me go, Monkey!"

"I'll resolve the Land of Rain in the shortest possible time!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura locked eyes.

These two Konoha higher-ups, who had just had a fierce argument, seemed to feel the tacit understanding and bond between them at that moment.

Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly exhaled a cloud of smoke and waved his hand.

"I understand. You will lead Root to the Land of Rain as reinforcements."

"Remember, this war must end as soon as possible!"

Land of Rain battlefield.

Under Jingū Kiraku's orders, all of Hidden Rain Village's elite forces were deployed.

They were all Jonin and Chunin, organized into six-man squads, and swiftly reached the front according to the intelligence they had received.

The cold rain outlined one figure after another. Beneath a black raincoat, Amemura tightly gripped the long sword at his waist.

"The enemy is hidden in a crevice between the rocks, one hundred meters directly east of you."

Jingū Kiraku's voice suddenly rang in the minds of every member of the squad.

Amemura and the other five Rain Ninja narrowed their eyes, a trace of killing intent showing within them.

"Captain, no trace of Konoha ninja has been found."

One Rain Ninja suddenly stood and reported, his face completely without flaw.

Hearing that, Amemura nodded. He swept his peripheral vision toward the enemy's location and waved his hand.

"Withdraw."

With that, all the Rain Ninja maintained their formation in perfect coordination and followed Amemura as they leaped toward the southeast.

Seeing this, the Konoha scouting squad hidden within the rock crevice finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Under Jiraiya's orders, they had gone out to search for traces of Hidden Rain Village forces.

Unexpectedly, they had run into this elite Rain Ninja squad not long after setting out.

To be safe, there were only three of them, so they had no choice but to hide.

Fortunately, their camouflage skills were excellent, and they had left no traces along the way. They had managed to evade the Hidden Rain Village ninja's search.

But...

Why were they getting closer and closer?

Alarm bells suddenly rang in the Konoha ninja's mind—

Not good, they were pretending!

Unfortunately, by the time he realized it, it was already too late.

"Attack!"

Amemura shouted.

Having successfully closed the distance to twenty or thirty meters, the Rain Ninja squad no longer bothered to conceal themselves.

A barrage of kunai carrying Exploding Tags rained down, and violent explosions instantly engulfed their hiding place.

The shockwaves from the blasts caused the rock wall concealing them to collapse, crushing two Konoha ninja into pulp on the spot.

The one who had luckily escaped was also cut down by Amemura amid the chaos!

Only after all three Konoha ninja had been completely eliminated did a sense of unreality arise in Amemura's heart—

Were Konoha ninja really this easy to kill?

The same scene was playing out elsewhere.

Erika was leading an artillery squad lying in ambush in a valley.

Suddenly, Jingū Kiraku's voice rang out.

"Move the artillery position five meters to the left."

"Shift the barrels fifteen degrees east."

Though Erika was baffled by the order, she still carried it out.

Just after the command had been executed, a squad of Konoha ninja leaped out from below the valley.

At the same time, Jingū Kiraku's voice came again.

"Fire!"